Although his teammate had stabbed him in the back, Pipi Axe didn't complain. The flames around his neck merely flickered before he charged at the Ghoul Tyrant's greatsword again.
"Clang!" Axe met sword, and sparks burst out.
Pipi Axe was high-level, at Lv10, but still struggled against the Lv15 Ghoul Tyrant.
Every blow from that heavy Ebony Greatsword landed like a pile driver, making Pipi Axe's bones creak. Several stone slabs cracked beneath his feet.
"Pipi Axe, hold him off!" Su Li ordered, darting in from the flank like a wraith.
"Fus—!!"
Su Li didn't rush in to attack. Instead, he took up an extremely tricky position, aimed at the unarmored back of the Ghoul Tyrant's knee, and unleashed a point-blank Dragon Shout.
"Boom!" A shock wave burst outward.
It was only a single syllable of the Dragon Shout, but at such close range, it still staggered the target.
The Ghoul Tyrant had been about to bring its sword down, but suddenly froze. Its knee buckled involuntarily.
"Now's our chance! Pipi Finger, go!"
Pipi Finger, who had been waiting for an opening nearby, shot forward like a red facehugger.
A dozen or so thick fingers instantly wrapped around the tyrant's shinbone and yanked hard!
"Thump!" The Ghoul Tyrant finally lost its balance and dropped to one knee.
"Die for me!"
Su Li's gaze sharpened. His Corrupted Iron Sword became a dark red blur as he aimed precisely for the cervical vertebrae visible through a gap in the tyrant's helmet.
The strike was fast, precise, and ruthless! No flashy technique—just pure killing intent.
"Clang! Sssht!" The first strike was blocked by the Ghoul Tyrant's bracer, but Su Li didn't stop.
Using the force of the rebound, he flicked his wrist. The blade changed direction unnaturally and slipped into a gap in the armor, stabbing into the tyrant's shoulder.
[Basic Swordsmanship proficiency +2]
The Ghoul Tyrant was immune to Crimson Corruption as an undead creature, but physical damage still worked just fine.
"Again!" Su Li ducked beneath the tyrant's swinging fist and swept his sword toward its side.
Pipi Axe was no slouch either. The moment the tyrant fell to one knee, he swung his Double-Edged Battle Axe down onto its crown in a flurry of blows.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang!" The rapid impacts echoed through the ancient tomb.
With the three of them working in perfect sync, the once-arrogant Ghoul Tyrant's health bar finally ran out.
Pipi Axe finished with a powerful horizontal sweep, and Su Li followed up with a precise strike that pierced its eye socket.
"Crack!" The Ghoul Tyrant's skull shattered.
The flickering blue Soulfire sputtered a few times before finally going out.
Its massive body crashed to the ground, turning into a heap of scattered armor and Dry Bones.
[Basic Swordsmanship proficiency increased! Current: Lv2 (20/200)]
[Swordsman class proficiency increased! Lv1 (12/200)]
[Successfully killed Ghoul Tyrant (Lv15)]
[Level challenge successful! Experience gained +300 (460/1600)]
[Strength +7, Constitution +5, Faith +3]
[Congratulations on completing the quest, Level Up, Young Man!]
"Phew... It's finally dead." Su Li leaned on his sword. He couldn't sweat, but he still instinctively made a wiping motion.
The battle had been tough, but it had also let him experience the thrill of true teamwork.
"Show me my status!"
[Race: Revered Corrupted Skeleton Soldier] [Level: Lv6] [Attributes: Strength 31, Agility 13, Constitution 26, Spirit 23, Faith 5] [Classes: Swordsman (Lv1), Dragonborn (Special Class), Blacksmith (Special Class)] [Skills: Basic Swordsmanship (Lv2), Unwavering Force (One Stage)]
"Strength is over 30! Constitution's almost there, too!" Su Li nodded with satisfaction.
"At this rate, I'm growing like I'm on a rocket. And I've got two special classes!"
Next came the much-anticipated looting. He crouched beside the Ghoul Tyrant's remains and searched them with practiced ease.
Besides the set of Ebony Armor, which was damaged but could still be salvaged and sold, Su Li also found a Dragon Stone.
[Obtained: Dragon Stone (Special Item)] [Description: A mysterious stone tablet containing the power of ancient dragon blood. It is said to awaken the bloodline within certain Wyrms, allowing them to evolve into higher-ranked ancient dragons.]
"Dragon Stone? It can evolve Wyrms?" Su Li's eyes lit up.
"Looks like dragons in this world have a strict hierarchy. Probably Wyrms, dragons, ancient dragons, and so on. With this thing, could I...?"
He restrained his excitement for the moment and kept searching.
Among the several large chests nearby, he found the usual gold and Silver Coins, along with a large number of Cracked Pots. He also found a black stone that shimmered like a star.
[Obtained: Weapon Enhancement Stone] [Description: An ore containing the power of rules. It can be used to enhance low-level weapons, and the lower the weapon's level, the greater the effect.]
"An enhancement stone?" Su Li looked at the Corrupted Iron Sword in his hand.
"This sword is still trash, Lv1. Perfect for testing it out."
[Use Enhancement Stone to enhance [Corrupted Iron Sword]?]
"Yes!"
"Vmmm—" A flash of light passed over the sword.
The Corrupted Iron Sword, which had already changed considerably, instantly took on a completely new look.
Its blade grew longer and sharper, dark red light shimmering along its length. Runes even seemed to appear faintly on the edge.
[Enhancement successful!] [Corrupted Iron Sword (Trash Lv1) → Corrupted Iron Sword (Common Lv30)] [Armor Break +5! Magic Break +3! Corruption buildup increased!]
"One stone raised it that many levels? That's insanely good!" Su Li was surprised, then quickly realized what was going on.
"Looks like it uses diminishing returns. The lower the level, the easier it is to raise. Later on, I'll probably need dozens of stones just to gain one level."
A new dialog box appeared.
[Due to the weapon's improved quality, you may choose a direction for upgrading your existing skill:] [Option One: Self-Destructing Infantry] [Description: Slightly increases the conversion rate of Corrupted Enslavement. All enslaved units will also gain a self-destruct command. When they self-destruct, they deal area damage and inflict a large amount of Corruption on nearby enemies.] [Option Two: Swarm Calamity] [Description: Slightly increases the conversion rate of Corrupted Enslavement and greatly increases the maximum number of minions you can control.] [Option Three: You really need to keep me under control.] [Description: Greatly increases the success rate of Corrupted Enslavement.]
Su Li studied the three options and fell into thought.
"Option Two lets me bring more minions, but there's no guarantee they'll be any good. Option Three gives me high-quality ones, but too few."
"Only Option One..."
His gaze settled on the words "self-destruct," and the corner of his mouth curled into a particularly sinister smile.
"Human Bombs? Isn't this tailor-made for my Throwing Shit Style?"
Just imagine a group of corrupted minions charging into the enemy ranks, then exploding with a boom, sending "shit" raining everywhere... It couldn't get any more beautiful.
"I choose Option One!"
After the enhancement was complete, Su Li felt that the sword in his hand had become more responsive. Just then, the system popped up another window.
[Advanced quest triggered: Mount Trial] [Description: How can a true powerhouse be without a mount? Choose your challenge to unlock the mount feature.] [Option One: Kill the Flame Dragon Lizard. Difficulty: B] [Reward: Unlock the mount system. The Corrupted Iron Sword will transform into an undead mount for you. Obtain [Flame Dragon Lizard] (evolvable), Strength +3, Constitution +3, Faith +3, Experience +100] [Option Two: Kill the Death Ritual Bird. Difficulty: A] [Reward: Unlock the mount system. Obtain [Death Ritual Bird], Strength +5, Constitution +5, Spirit +5, Experience +200] [Option Three: Explore and challenge the final BOSS of the Undead Mountain Range (unknown). Difficulty: S (extremely dangerous)] [Reward: Seize its mount, all attributes +10]
"A mount?!" Su Li's eyes lit up.
"This is exactly what I want!" He quickly weighed his options.
"Option Three is S-rank, so that's an instant pass. I haven't even seen that thing yet. As for Option Two, that Death Ritual Bird is way too sanity-blasting. It might suit a skeleton, but it's still too ugly."
"Option One is the sensible choice!"
"The Flame Dragon Lizard! A Wyrm! And I happen to have a Dragon Stone! If I can tame it and then use the Dragon Stone to evolve it..."
"Wouldn't I take off like a rocket? Dragon Knight Su Li, reporting for duty!"
A perfect loop! Su Li locked in Option One without hesitation.
Then Su Li glanced at the time. It was getting late.
"I got a lot out of today. I'll browse the forum for a bit, then log off and rest."
Su Li had just opened the forum to see if there was any new gossip when a private message suddenly popped up.
[Pansi Dawang (Lv5): Big Boss! Big Boss! Help!]
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